I’ve created this customised list of festivals for my upcoming feature film We Put the World to Sleep, which will probably fall within the following genres & subgenres: apocalyptic sci-fi, psychological thriller, metaphysical drama, adventure, mystery, antihero film, dark romance, meta-cinema, psychotronic, mumblecore, satire, mockumentary.
If you make indie narrative feature films, this may help with your own festival strategy, which is why I decided to make it public, but it won’t perfectly apply for other films. For that, check out my lists of Top 250 International Film Festivals and Top 100 Genre Film Festivals, and contact me if you’d like a customised list for your film (I can do it for a donation via PayPal if I’m not too busy).
Also, if you have good film industry knowledge/experience, and you think a certain festival would be great for my movie and should be prioritised on this list, or on the contrary, be removed, please let me know! Any feedback is welcomed & appreciated! Thanks!
Significance of colourful notes:
- Sure: submit for sure, even if no fee waiver is offered (10 festivals)
- Yes: submit most probably, would be great to be offered a fee waiver though (75 festivals)
- Maybe: maybe submit if there’s budget left / submit if they offer a fee waiver (125 festivals)
- Cond.: only submit if they offer a full fee waiver (60 festivals)
- N/A: invitation-based festival, does not accept submissions for features (5 festivals)
1st choice for World Premiere:
(in chronological order)
- Jan – sure – Sundance Film Festival (focused on US films) – Park City, Utah, US, 43 years – top 10 – 72 / 26 world premieres in 2020 in the US & world competitions for dramatic & documentary features, and the sections next & midnight
- Feb-March – sure – Berlin International Film Festival / Berlinale (focused on art films) – Berlin, Germany, 70 years – top 10 – 84 world premieres in 2020 in competition & the sections encounters, panorama & forum
- March – sure – South by Southwest / SXSW Film Festival (focused on US films) – Austin, Texas, US, 27 years – top 10 – 42 / 8 world premieres announced for 2020 in the documentary & narrative competitions and the sections visions, midnighters & global
- June – yes – Tribeca Film Festival (focused on US films) – New York City, US, 20 years – top 10 – 47 / 18 world premieres announced for 2020 in the US & international narrative competitions, documentary competition, and the sections viewpoints & midnight
- July – yes – Cannes Film Festival / Festival de Cannes – Cannes, France, 73 years – top 10 – 38 world premieres in 2019 in the main & un certain regard competitions
- July – cond – Critics’ Week / Semaine de la Critique (parallel section of Cannes Film Festival) – Cannes, France, 59 years – top 25 – 7 world premieres in 2019 in competition
- July – maybe – Directors’ Fortnight / Quinzaine des Realisateurs (parallel section of Cannes Film Festival) – Cannes, France, 52 years – top 10 – 21 world premieres in 2019
- Sept – maybe – Telluride Film Festival (focused on Hollywood films) – Telluride, Colorado, US, 47 years – top 10 – 14 / 4 world premieres in 2019
- Sept – sure – Toronto International Film Festival: TIFF – Toronto, Canada, 45 years – top 10 – 82 / 65 world premieres in 2019 in the sections discovery, platform, docs, wavelengths, contemporary world cinema & midnight madness
- Sept – maybe – Venice International Film Festival (focused on Hollywood films) – Venice, Italy, 77 years – top 10 – 44 world premieres in 2019 in the main & orizzonti competitions, and the section sconfini
- Sept-Oct – n/a (invitation-based) – New York Film Festival (accepts submissions for short films only, features are invitation based) – New York City, US, 58 years – top 25
2nd choice for World Premiere:
(in case the movie doesn’t get selected by one of the festivals above) (in chronological order)
- Jan – maybe – Palm Springs International Film Festival – Palm Springs, California, US, 31 years – top 50 – 4 / 3 world premieres in 2020
- Jan – yes – Slamdance Film Festival (focused on US films) – Park City, Utah, US, 26 years – top 25 – 10 / 3 world premieres in 2020
- Jan-Feb – yes – International Film Festival Rotterdam: IFFR – Rotterdam, Netherlands, 49 years – top 25 – 25 world premieres in 2020 in the tiger, big screen & bright future competitions
- April – sure – Brussels International Fantastic Film Festival: BIFFF (for horror & fantasy films) – Brussels, Belgium, 38 years – top 100 – 8 world premieres announced for 2020
- April – maybe – San Francisco International Film Festival: SFFILM – San Francisco, California, US, 63 years – top 25 – 3 / 1 world premieres announced for 2020
- April – maybe – Seattle International Film Festival: SIFF (focused on US films) – Seattle, Washington State, US, 46 years – top 25 – 11 / 1 world premieres in 2019
- July – maybe – ACID (parallel section of Cannes Film Festival) – top 50 – 7 world premieres in 2019
- Aug – yes – Fantasia International Film Festival (for horror & fantasy films) – Montreal, Canada, 24 years – top 50 – 11 world premieres in 2019
- Aug – sure – Karlovy Vary International Film Festival (focused on European films) – Karlovy Vary, Czech Republic, 55 years – top 25 – 25 world premieres in 2019 in the main, east of the west & documentary competitions
- Aug – yes – Locarno Film Festival – Locarno, Switzerland, 73 years – top 10 – 58 world premieres in 2019 in the piazza grande, moving ahead, concorso internazionale & cineasti del presente competitions
- Aug – maybe – Melbourne International Film Festival (focused on Australian films) – Melbourne, Australia, 69 years – top 50 – 7 / 0 world premieres in 2019
- Aug – yes – Sydney Film Festival (for new directions in film) (focused on Australian films) – Sydney, Australia, 67 years – top 50 – 7 / 2 world premieres in 2019
- Sept – yes – Fantastic Fest (for horror & fantasy films) – Austin, Texas, US, 16 years – top 50 – 18 world premieres in 2019
- Sept – maybe – San Sebastian International Film Festival / Donostia Zinemaldia (focused on Spanish & Portuguese language films) – top 25 – 15 / 7 world premieres in 2019 in the main, new directors, zabaltegi-tabakalera & horizontes latinos competitions
- Sept-Oct – yes – Vancouver International Film Festival (focused on Canadian films) – Vancouver, Canada, 39 years – top 50 – 8 / 3 world premieres in 2019 in the sections contemporary world cinema, vanguard, true north, impact, gateway & altered states
- Oct – maybe – AFI FEST – Los Angeles, California, US, 50 years – top 25 – 1 / 1 world premiere in 2019
- Oct – maybe – Austin Film Festival (focused on film writing) (focused on US films) – Austin, Texas, US, 28 years – top 50 – at least 4 / 1 world premieres in 2019
- Oct – maybe – BFI London Film Festival (focused on UK films) – London, UK, 64 years – top 25 – 10 / 3 world premieres in 2019 in the official, first feature & documentary competitions, and experimenta section
- Oct – yes – Busan International Film Festival (formerly Pusan) (focused on Asian films) – Busan, South Korea, 25 years – top 25 – 82 / 15 world premieres in 2019 in the sections world cinema, flash forward, new currents, wide angle, midnight passion, a window on Asian cinema & Korean cinema today vision
- Oct – cond – Chicago International Film Festival – Chicago, Illinois, US, 56 years – top 50 – 0 world premieres in 2019 in the competitions
- Oct – cond – Hamptons International Film Festival (focused on Hollywood films) – top 50 – IW100, R100, MM50-2020-2018, AASh, AAShDo, MM25-2017, Aw10
- Raindance Film Festival – London, UK, 28 years – top 25 – 2 / 2 world premieres in 2019 – high
- Oct – sure – Sitges Film Festival / Festival Internacional de Cinema Fantastic de Catalunya (for horror & fantasy films) – Sitges, Catalonia, Spain, 53 years – top 25 – about 12 world premieres in 2019 in the fantastic competition and the sections noves visions, panorama, midnight x-treme, brigadoon & orbita
- Oct – maybe – Toronto After Dark Film Festival (for horror, sci-fi & action films) – Toronto, Canada, 15 years – top 100 – 3 world premieres in 2019
3rd choice for World Premiere:
(in case the movie doesn’t get selected by one of the festivals above) (in alphabetical order)
- Atlanta Film Festival (focused on US films) – Atlanta, Georgia, US, 44 years – top 50 – 3 / 0 world premieres announced for 2020 – sure
- Beyond Fest (for horror & fantasy films) (now accepts submissions for both features and shorts) – Los Angeles, California, US, 8 years – top 250 – yes
- Brooklyn Film Festival – New York City, US, 23 years – top 250 – 6 / 2 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Bucheon International Fantastic Film Festival: BiFan (formerly Puchon/PiFan) (focused on Asian horror & fantasy films) – Bucheon, South Korea, 24 years – top 100 – 20 world premieres in 2019 (mostly Asian genre films) – yes
- Buenos Aires International Festival of Independent Cinema: BAFICI – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 22 years – top 100 – yes
- Cinequest Film & Creativity Festival (focused on film innovations) (focused on US films) – San Jose, California, US, 29 years – top 50 – 35 / 6 world premieres announced for 2020 – maybe
- Cleveland International Film Festival – Cleveland, Ohio, US, 44 years – top 100 – maybe
- Dances With Films (focused on US films) – Los Angeles, California, 23 years – top 100 – 18 / 3 world premieres in 2019 in the sections narrative features, documentaries & midnight series – yes
- Edinburgh International Film Festival (focused on UK films) – Edinburgh, UK, 74 years – top 50 – 12 / 4 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- Festival du nouveau cinema – Montreal, Canada, 49 years – top 100 – 4 / 2 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Florida Film Festival (focused on US films) – Winter Park / Maitland, Florida, US, 29 years – top 100 – 2 / 0 world premieres in 2019 the narrative & documentary competitions – cond
- FrightFest (for horror films) – London, UK, 21 years – top 100 – 10 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- Goteborg Film Festival – Gothenburg, Sweden, 43 years – top 50 – maybe
- Hong Kong International Film Festival (focused on Asian films) – Hong Kong, China, 44 years – top 50 – at least 4 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- Imagine Film Festival (for horror & fantasy films) – Amsterdam, Netherlands, 36 years – top 250 – 1 world premiere announced for 2020 – yes
- Mar del Plata International Film Festival – Mar del Plata, Argentina, 35 years – top 100 – yes
- Mill Valley Film Festival (focused on Hollywood films) – Mill Valley, California, US, 43 years – top 100 – 11 / 2 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- Moscow International Film Festival – Moscow, Russia, 42 years – top 100 – yes
- Nashville Film Festival: NashFilm – Nashville, Tennessee, US, 52 years – top 100 – selected in 2016 – yes
- Neuchatel International Fantastic Film Festival (for horror & fantasy films) – Neuchatel, Switzerland, 20 years – top 100 – at least 3 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- New Directors/New Films – New York City, US, 49 years – top 100 – 0 world premieres announced for 2020 – maybe
- New Orleans Film Festival (focused on underrepresented, female and color filmmakers) – New Orleans, Louisiana, US, 31 years – top 100 – maybe
- The Overlook Film Festival (formerly Stanley Film Festival) (for horror films) – New Orleans, Louisiana, US, 7 years – top 100 – 2 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Rhode Island International Film Festival – Providence, Rhode Island, US, 24 years – top 250 – yes (automatically considered for the genre fest as well)
- Santa Barbara International Film Festival (focused on US films) – Santa Barbara, California, US, 35 years – top 50 – 22 / 4 world premieres in 2020 – maybe
- Sarajevo Film Festival (focused on South-Eastern European films) – Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, 26 years – top 50 – 12 world premieres in the main & documentary competitions – yes
- Stockholm International Film Festival – Stockholm, Sweden, 31 years – top 100 – maybe
- Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival (for horror & fantasy films) – Strasbourg, France, 13 years – top 250 – 3 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Tallinn Black Nights Film Festival: POFF – Tallinn, Estonia, 24 years – top 50 – 26 world premieres in 2019 in the first feature & rebels with a cause competitions, and the official selection section – sure
- Telluride Horror Show – Telluride, Colorado, US, 11 years – top 250 – 0 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- Tokyo International Film Festival (focused on Asian films) – Tokyo, Japan, 33 years – top 50 – 21 / 3 world premieres in the main, Asian future & Japanese cinema splash competitions – maybe
- Transilvania International Film Festival: TIFF – Cluj-Napoca, Romania, 19 years – top 100 – selected/attended in 2015 – yes
- Vienna International Film Festival / Viennale – Vienna, Austria, 58 years – top 100 – maybe
- Warsaw Film Festival – Warsaw, Poland, 36 years – top 50 – 15 world premieres in 2019 the international, 1-2, free spirit & documentary competitions – yes
- Zurich Film Festival – Zurich, Switzerland, 16 years – top 100 – maybe
For Regional Premieres:
(for premieres at the continental, country, state or city level)
From my top 100 festivals list:
(in alphabetical order)
- Ann Arbor Film Festival (for experimental & avant-garde films) – Ann Arbor, Michigan, US, 58 years – 2 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Cairo International Film Festival – Cairo, Egypt, 42 years – maybe
- Cartagena International Film Festival: FICCI (focused on Latin-American films) – Cartagena, Colombia, 60 years – maybe
- Cottbus Film Festival / FilmFestival Cottbus (for Central & Eastern European films) – Cottbus, Germany, 30 years – 3 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Durban International Film Festival – Durban, South Africa, 41 years – yes
- Dubai International Film Festival (focused on films from the Arab world) – Dubai, United Arab Emirates, 17 years – cond
- Fantasporto: Oporto International Film Festival (for horror & fantasy films) – Porto, Portugal, 40 years – 6 world premieres announced for 2020 in the fantastic, directors’ week & orient express competitions – selected/attended in 2015 – yes
- Guadalajara International Film Festival: FICG (focused on Latin-American films) – Guadalajara, Mexico, 35 years – maybe
- International Film Festival of India, Goa – Goa, India, 51 years – yes
- Shanghai International Film & TV Festival (focused on Asian films) – Shanghai, China, 23 years – at least 30 / 7 world premieres in the main, documentary & Asian new talent competitions, and panorama sections – yes
- Taipei Golden Horse Film Festival (focused on Asian films) – Taipei, Taiwan, 41 years – maybe
- Traverse City Film Festival (invitation based, but accepts proposals) – Traverse City, Michigan, US, 16 years – yes
- Thessaloniki International Film Festival – Thessaloniki, Greece, 61 years – maybe
From my top 250 festivals list:
(in alphabetical order)
- !f Istanbul Independent Film Festival – Istanbul / Ankara / Izmir, Turkey, 19 years – yes
- Adelaide Film Festival (focused on Australian films) – Adelaide, Australia, 10 years – cond
- Africa International Film Festival (focused on African films) – Lagos, Nigeria, 10 years – cond
- A Night of Horror International Film Festival (recently reopened after a two years hiatus) – Sydney, Australia, 13 years – at least 2 world premieres in 2020 (first wave announcement) – selected/attended in 2015 – maybe
- Antalya Golden Orange Film Festival – Antalya, Turkey, 57 years – maybe
- Ashland Independent Film Festival – Ashland, Oregon, US, 19 years – cond
- Athens International Film Festival – Athens, Greece, 26 years – maybe
- Atlantic International Film Festival: FIN (focused on Atlantic films) – Halifax, Canada, 40 years – cond
- Austin Revolution Film Festival – Austin, Texas, US, 9 years – cond
- Bali International Film Festival / Balinale – Sanur, Bali, Indonesia, 14 years – yes
- BAMcinemaFest (focused on US films) – New York City, US, 12 years – 3 / 0 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- BendFilm Festival – Bend, Oregon, US, 17 years – cond
- Bergen International Film Festival – Bergen, Norway, 21 years – maybe
- Bosphorus Film Festival – Istanbul, Turkey, 8 years – in the jury in 2015 – yes
- Brooklyn Horror Film Festival – New York City, US, 5 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – cond
- Burbank International Film Festival – Burbank, California, US, 13 years – maybe
- Calgary International Film Festival – Calgary, Canada, 21 years – possibly 0 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Cambodia International Film Festival – Phnom Penh, Cambodia, 10 years – maybe
- Carthage Film Festival – Tunis, Tunisia, 31 years – maybe
- Chicago Underground Film Festival (focused on experimental films) – Chicago, Illinois, US, 27 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- CineDays (for European films) – Skopje, North Macedonia, 19 years – maybe
- Cinema Jove / Valencia International Film Festival – Valencia, Spain, 35 years – maybe
- Cinepocalypse (formerly Bruce Campbell’s Horror Film Fest) (for horror & fantasy films) – Chicago, Illinois, US, 7 years – 5 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Cork International Film Festival – Cork, Ireland, 65 years – maybe
- CPH:PIX – Copenhagen, Denmark, 12 years – maybe
- Cucalorus Film Festival – Wilmington, North Carolina, US, 26 years – cond
- Cyprus International Film Festival (Golden Aphrodite) – Nicosia, Cyprus, 15 years – maybe
- Denver Film Festival – Denver, Colorado, US, 40 years – maybe
- Dublin International Film Festival – Dublin, Ireland, 16 years – maybe
- Edmonton International Film Festival – Edmonton, Canada, 34 years – cond
- Eurasia International Film Festival – Kazakhstan, 16 years – maybe
- Evolution! Mallorca International Film Festival – Palma de Mallorca, Spain, 9 years – cond
- Fajr International Film Festival – Tehran, Iran, 38 years – yes
- Fantaspoa (for horror & fantasy films) – Porto Alegre, Brazil, 16 years – 5 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- FEST – Belgrade, Serbia, 48 years – cond
- Filmfestival Kitzbuehel (focused on young directors’ films) – Kitzbuhel, Austria, 8 years – maybe
- FilmQuest (for fantasy, horror, fantasy & sci-fi films) – Provo, Utah, US, 7 years – 2 world premieres in 2019 – in the jury in 2020/2021 – yes
- Galway Film Fleadh – Galway, Ireland, 32 years – maybe
- Geneva International Film Festival (previously Tous Ecrans) (invitation based) – Geneva, Switzerland, 25 years – n/a (invitation-based)
- Global Film Festival – Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, 13 years – maybe
- goEast (for Central & Eastern European films) – Wiesbaden, Germany, 20 years – maybe
- Golden Apricot Yerevan International Film Festival – Yerevan, Armenia, 17 years – maybe
- Hamilton Film Festival – Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, 15 years – selected in 2016 – yes
- Hanoi International Film Festival (once in 2 years) – Hanoi, Vietnam, 6 years – yes
- Havana Film Festival (for Latin-American films) – Havana, Cuba, 41 years – maybe
- Heartland International Film Festival – Indianapolis, Indiana, US, 29 years – cond
- Hawaii International Film Festival – Honolulu, Hawaii, US, 40 years – maybe
- Indie Memphis Film Festival – Memphis, Tennessee, US, 23 years – cond
- International Filmfestival Mannheim-Heidelberg – Mannheim/Heidelberg, Germany, 69 years – yes
- Istanbul Film Festival – Istanbul, Turkey, 39 years – maybe
- Jeonju International Film Festival – Jeonju, South Korea, 21 years – maybe
- Jerusalem Film Festival – Jerusalem, Israel, 37 years – maybe
- Kolkata International Film Festival – Kolkata (Calcutta), India, 26 years – maybe
- Kyiv International Film Festival / Molodist (focused on young directors’ films) – Kyiv, Ukraine, 49 years – maybe
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria International Film Festival – Las Palmas, Canary Islands, Spain, 19 years – yes
- Leeds International Film Festival – Leeds, UK, 34 years – maybe
- Love & Anarchy: Helsinki International Film Festival – Helsinki, Finland, 33 years – maybe
- Mammoth Lakes Film Festival – Mammoth Lakes, California, 6 years – cond
- Marrakech International Film Festival – Marrakesh, Morocco, 19 years – maybe
- The Method Fest (focused on acting) – Beverly Hills, California, US, 14 years – yes
- Miami Film Festival – Miami, Florida, US, 37 years – maybe
- Middleburg Film Festival (focused on Hollywood films) – Middleburg, Virginia, US, 8 years – cond
- Minsk International Film Festival / Listapad (for films from the Eurasian region) – Minsk, Belarus, 27 years – maybe
- Morbido Film Fest (for horror & fantasy films) – Mexico City, Mexico, 13 years – maybe
- Morelia International Film Festival (focused on Latin-American films) – Morelia, Mexico, 18 years – cond
- MOTELx: Lisbon International Horror Film Festival – Lisbon, Portugal, 14 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – cond
- Mumbai Film Festival – Mumbai, India, 22 years – maybe
- Nantucket Film Festival – New York City, US, 25 years – maybe
- New Hampshire Film Festival – Portsmouth, New Hampshire, US, 20 years – cond
- New Horizons Film Festival – Wroclaw, Poland 20 years – yes
- New Zealand International Film Festival: NZIFF – Auckland, Wellington and 11 other cities across New Zealand, 49 years – yes
- Nightmares Film Festival (for horror, fantasy & thriller films) – Columbus, Ohio, US, 5 years – 5 world premieres in 2019 – selected in 2018 – yes
- Odesa International Film Festival – Odessa, Ukraine, 11 years – maybe
- Oldenburg International Film Festival – Oldenburg, Germany, 27 years – maybe
- On Vous Ment! Mockumentary Film Festival (for pseudo-documentaries and found footage films) – Lyon, France, 5 years – selected in 2016 – sure
- Philadelphia Film Festival – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, 29 years – cond
- Pyongyang International Film Festival – Pyongyang, North Korea, 18 years – yes
- Reykjavik International Film Festival – Reykjavik, Iceland, 17 years – maybe
- Rio de Janeiro International Film Festival – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 22 years – maybe
- RiverRun International Film Festival – Winston-Salem, North Carolina, US, 21 years – cond
- Rome Film Festival – Rome, Italy, 15 years – maybe
- San Luis Obispo International Film Festival – San Luis Obispo, California, US, 26 years – cond
- Santa Fe Independent Film Festival – Santa Fe, New Mexico, US, 12 years – cond
- Sao Paulo International Film Festival / Mostra Iternacional de Cinema – Sao Paulo, Brazil, 44 years – maybe
- Sarasota Film Festival – Sarasota, Florida, US, 23 years – cond
- Screamfest Horror Film Festival – Los Angeles, California, US, 20 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – cond
- Seminci / Valladolid International Film Festival – Valladolid, Spain, 65 years – maybe
- SENE Film Festival – Providence, Rhode Island, US, 12 years – cond
- Shriekfest: The Indie Horror/Sci-Fi Film Festival – Los Angeles, California / Orlando, Florida, US, 20 years – 3 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Singapore International Film Festival – Singapore, 31 years – yes
- Sofia International Film Festival – Sofia, Bulgaria, 23 years – yes
- Tacoma Film Festival – Tacoma, Washington State, US, 15 years – cond
- Taipei Film Festival – Taipei, Taiwan, 23 years – yes
- Tirana International Film Festival – Tirana, Albania, 18 yearsh – maybe
- Torino Film Festival – Turin, Italy, 38 years – yes
- Trieste Film Festival (for Central & Eastern European films) – Trieste, Italy, 31 years – yes
- Valdivia International Film Festival: FICValdivia – Valdivia, Chile, 27 years – maybe
- Vilnius Film Festival – Vilnius, Lithuania, 25 years – maybe
- Zagreb Film Festival – Zagreb, Croatia, 17 years – maybe
From my top 50 genre festivals list:
(in alphabetical order)
- Boston Underground Film Festival – Boston, Massachusetts, US, 21 years – 1 world premiere announced for 2020 – yes
- Buenos Aires Rojo Sangre – Buenos Aires, Argentina, 20 years – maybe
- Chattanooga Film Festival – Chattanooga, Tennessee, US, 5 years – 4 world premieres in 2020 – maybe
- Dead by Dawn: Scotland’s International Horror Film Festival – Edinburgh, UK, 28 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- L’Etrange Festival – Paris, France, 25 years – 2 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Fantafestival – Rome, Italy, 40 years – yes
- Fantasy FilmFest – Berlin / Nuremberg / Munich / Frankfurt / Cologne / Stuttgart / Hamburg, Germany, 34 years – yes
- FANT: Bilbao Fantasy Film Festival – Bilbao, Basque Country, Spain, 26 years – yes
- Gerardmer International Fantastic Film Festival – Gerardmer, France, 27 years – yes
- GenreBlast Film Festival – Winchester, Virginia, US, 5 years – 3 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Grossmann Fantastic Film & Wine Festival – Ljutomer, Slovenia, 16 years – maybe
- Horrible Imaginings Film Festival – San Diego, California, US, 10 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Lund International Fantastic Film Festival – Malmo/Lund, Sweden, 26 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- Macabro International Horror Film Festival – Mexico City, Mexico, 19 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – cond
- Monster Fest (focused on Australian genre films) – Melbourne, Australia, 10 years – 6 world premieres in 2019 (all Australian films) – cond
- Night Visions – Helsinki, Finland, 23 years – at least 1 world premiere in 2019 – yes
- Noir in Festival (for noir, mystery, crime & thriller films) – Milan, Italy, 30 years – maybe
- Other Worlds Austin Film Festival (for sci-fi and horror films) – Austin, Texas, 7 years – selected in 2016 – yes
- Panic Fest – North Kansas City, Missouri, US, 8 years – 1 world premiere in 2020 – cond
- Popcorn Frights Film Festival – Miami, Florida, US, 6 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – cond
- San Sebastian Horror & Fantasy Film Festival / Semana de Terror Donostia – San Sebastian, Basque Country, Spain, 31 years – maybe
- /slash Fantastic Film Festival – Vienna, Austria, 11 years – maybe
- Trieste Science+Fiction (for sci-fi films) – Trieste, Italy, 41 years – yes
- What The Fest (most probably invitation based) – New York City, NY, US, 3 years – 1 world premiere in 2019 – n/a (might be invitation-based)
From my top 100 genre festivals list:
(in alphabetical order)
- Another Hole in the Head International Genre Film Festival – San Francisco, California, US, 17 years – cond
- Berlin Sci-fi Filmfest – Berlin, Germany, 4 years – yes
- Boston Sci-Film Festival – Boston, Massachusetts, US, 45 years – maybe
- Calgary Underground Film Festival – Calgary, Canada, 16 years – maybe
- Fancine Malaga Fantastic Film Festival – Malaga, Andalusia, Spain, 29 years – maybe
- Feratum Film Fest – Tlalpujahua, Mexico – 9 years – cond
- GrimmFest – Manchester, UK, 11 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – maybe
- Haapsalu Horror & Fantasy Film Festival – Haapsalu, Estonia, 13 years – maybe
- Horror-on-Sea Film Festival – Southend-on-Sea, UK, 8 years – 2 world premieres in 2020 – selected in 2017 – cond
- The International Horror & Sci-Fi Film Festival – Phoenix, Arizona, US, 15 years – maybe
- Lausanne Underground Film & Music Festival – Lausanne, Switzerland, 19 years – yes
- LUSCA Caribbean International Fantastic Film Fest (formerly Puerto Rico Horror Film Fest) – San Juan, Puerto Rico, US, 13 years – maybe
- Maskoon Fantastic Film Festival (accepts submissions for short films only) – Beirut, Lebanon, 5 years – n/a (invitation-based)
- MidWest WeirdFest (from the founding director of A Night of Horror Film Festival) – Eau Claire, Wisconsin, US, 4 years – 3 world premieres in 2020 – yes
- Nevermore Film Festival – Durham, North Carolina, US, 21 years – maybe
- Nocturna: Madrid International Fantastic Film Festival – Madrid, Spain, 8 years – at least 1 world premiere in 2019 – yes
- North Bend Film Festival (focused on surrealist genre films) – North Bend, Washington, US, 4 years – yes
- Offscreen Film Festival (possibly invitation-based) – Brussels, Belgium, 14 years – n/a (might be invitation-based)
- Paris International Fantastic Film Festival – Paris, France, 10 years – 0 world premieres in 2019 – yes
- RamaSkrik – Oppdal, Norway, 10 years – yes
- Razor Reel Flanders Film Festival – Bruges, Belgium, 13 years – maybe
- Renegade Film Festival (formerly Women in Horror Film Festival) – Atlanta, Georgia, US, 4 years – cond
- Sci-Fi-London Film Festival – London, UK, 19 years – maybe
- Sydney Underground Film Festival – Sydney, Australia, 14 years – maybe
- TromaDance Film Festival – New York City, NY, US, 20 years – selected in 2016 – maybe
- Unnamed Footage Festival (for found footage & mockumentary films) – San Francisco, California, US, 3 years – 3 world premieres in 2019 – selected in 2018 – yes
- Utopiales Nantes (for sci-fi films) – Nantes, France, 21 years – yes
- Vortex Sci-Fi, Fantasy & Horror Film Festival (formerly Rhode Island International Horror Film Festival) – Providence, Rhode Island, US, 21 years – maybe
- Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival – Yubari, Japan, 28 years – yes
From my beyond top 100 genre festivals list:
(in alphabetical order)
- L’Absurde Seance Festival – Nantes, France, 12 years – yes
- Algeciras Fantastika – Algeciras, Spain, 12 years – maybe
- Arizona Underground Film Festival – Tucson, Arizona, US, 11 years – cond
- Atlanta Underground Film Festival – Atlanta, Georgia, US, 17 years – cond
- Buffalo Dreams Fantastic Film Festival – Buffalo, New York, US, 8 years – 4 world premieres in 2019 – cond
- BUT Film Festival – Breda, Netherlands, 15 years – maybe
- Canary Islands Fantastic Film Festival – San Cristobal de La Laguna, Tenerife, Spain, 4 years – yes
- Cinefantasy International Fantastic Film Festival – Sao Paulo, Brazil, 10 years – maybe
- Crash International Fantastic Film Festival – Goyania, Brazil, 11 years – maybe
- Crystal Palace International Film Festival – London, UK, 11 years – cond
- Curtas Festival do Imaxinario – Vilagarcia de Arouse, Spain, 48 years – maybe
- Fantasmagoria – Medellin, Colombia, 3 years – maybe
- Fantastic Zagreb Film Festival – Zagreb, Croatia, 9 years – maybe
- Fantosfreak International Short Film Festival – Cerdanyola del Valles, Spain, 21 years – maybe
- Fargo Fantastic Film Festival – Fargo, North Dakota, US, 18 years – cond
- Fixion Fest – Santiago, Chile, 6 years – maybe
- Hallucinations Collectives – Lyon, France, 13 years – maybe
- Hrizantema International Horror & Fantasy Film Festival – Subotica, Serbia, 8 years – maybe
- The Icon Festival for Science Fiction & Fantasy – Tel Aviv, Israel, 23 years – maybe
- Ithaca Fantastik– Ithaca, New York State, US, 8 years – maybe
- Lost Episode Festival Toronto – Toronto, Canada, 7 years – maybe
- Madeira Fantastic FilmFest – Funchal, Madeira, Portugal, 5 years – maybe
- Melbourne Underground Film Festival – Melbourne, Australia, 20 years – maybe
- Miami International Science Fiction Film Festival – Miami, Florida, US, 7 years – maybe
- Milwaukee Twisted Dreams Film Festival – Milwaukee, Wisconsin, US, 5 years – cond
- Monsters of Film – Stockholm, Sweden, 9 years – cond
- Montevideo Fantastico – Montevideo, Uruguay, 15 years – maybe
- Obscura Filmfestival – Hanover, Germany, 4 years – maybe
- The Optical Theatre Horror Film Festival – Rome, Italy, 6 years – cond
- Phenomena Festival – Sao Paulo, Brazil, 4 years – maybe
- San Diego Underground Film Festival – San Diego, California, US, 6 years – maybe
- Saskatoon Fantastic Film Festival – Saskatoon, Canada, 10 years – maybe
- Shockfest Film Festival – Las Vegas, Nevada, US, 12 years – cond
- Sick ‘n’ Wrong Film Festival – Orlando, Florida, US, 5 years – cond
- South Carolina Underground Film Festival – Charleston, South Carolina, US, 6 years – maybe
- Taipei Golden Horse Fantastic Film Festival (focused on Asian genre films) – Taipei, Taiwan, 11 years – yes
- Thriller! Chiller! – Grand Rapids, Michigan, US, 15 years – cond
- Torino Underground Cinefest – Torino, Italy, 8 years – cond
- Trash Film Festival – Varazdin, Croatia, 15 years – maybe
- Vancouver Badass Film Festival – Vancouver, Canada, 5 years – cond
- Zed Fest Film Festival – Los Angeles, California, US, 11 years – cond
